What type of equipment is needed to treat a collapsed trachea?

The equipment needed to treat a collapsed trachea are plastic rings or spirals placed around the outside of the trachea by a ACVS board-certified veterinary surgeon, or a stent inserted nonsurgically inside the airway to hold open the trachea, according to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

In most cases, tracheal collapse is treated with bronchodilators, cough suppressants, corticosteroids or antibiotics. Weight loss helps obese dogs to breathe more easily. Treatment for tracheal collapse is not a cure, but in a 1994 study, 71 percent of dogs receiving medical treatment showed positive long-term responses, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.